Modi to visit US, intensify efforts to meet Trump

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the US next month to attend the UN General Assembly session. Indian diplomats are making intensive efforts to meet US President Donald Trump during the visit.

India's Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the matter. However, an Indian official said that no final decision has been taken yet. Usually, heads of state and government reserve their time for the UN General Debate, so Modi is on the list of initial speakers for September 26. The official said that the list may change and it has not been decided whether Modi will attend the session at all.

The UN General Assembly will begin on September 9, but the annual debate of heads of state and government will be held from September 23-29. The main purpose of the visit is to attend the UN session, but according to the Indian Express, one of Modi's important goals will be to meet Trump and resolve trade and customs issues between the two countries.

The news comes as Trump announced an additional 25 percent tariff to punish New Delhi for continuing to buy Russian oil. This brings the total tariff on Indian goods exported to the United States to 50 percent, one of the highest rates imposed on any US trading partner.

Earlier, despite five rounds of talks between New Delhi and Washington, the trade talks failed due to differences over opening up the agriculture and dairy sectors and stopping purchases of Russian oil.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said on Tuesday that several major trade deals with Switzerland and India were still pending. However, India has shown some reluctance in the talks. Besant told Fox Business Network's 'Kudlow' show that he hopes the Trump administration can conclude the talks by the end of October.

Source: Reuters, Indian Express